Till the Bell Tolls
by Yuki-Infel
Summary: P3 AU. It was human's nature to fear what they didn't understand. No one was completely evil, no one was completely benevolent. While in the future they judged that the true nature of Ergo Project was evil, the original purpose was never to facilitate the birth of Death. Thus, the cogs of fate moving towards its course were set, retelling the other half of the story.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : Persona Series obviously doesn't belong to me.

 **Warnings** : Explicit gore, fanon.

 **Author's Note** : This is my first collab project. Most of the ideas are from **Thanzintay.2000** and I just help writing them out hohoho. The first few chapters are fanon that starts eleven years before the main events of P3. This fic is quite a major AU so forget everything you know, sit back and read. If you have questions or theories you want to shoot, please do.

Oh well, hope you enjoy this^^

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 ** _Zeus who thunders on high was meditating marvelous deeds,_**

 ** _even to mingle storm and tempest over the boundless earth,_**

 ** _and already he was hastening to make an utter end of the race of mortal men,_**

 ** _seeing their fate with their own eyes._**

 ** _But on those who were born of immortals and of mankind verily Zeus laid toil and sorrow upon sorrow."_**

 ** _-Hesiod's Account, 8_** ** _th_** ** _century BCE._**

* * *

 **Till The Bell Tolls**

 **Chapter I**

 _22nd December 1998 Heisei 10, 08.01 AM, Kirijo Group's Ergo Project Laboratory, Port Island._

Ikutsuki turned around in front of a pure bronze mirror, re-tying his long hair and checked the cut of his brand new suit. He wiped out the beads of sweat that fell on his cheeks with a handkerchief he tucked on his breast pocket as he struggled to calm his nerves, in order to give the best first impression on the person that might be his future employer.

He let out a frustrated breath as the last button refused to budge and let him pin it, finally giving up on it. A total lost cause. His hands were sweaty and the digits trembled faintly.

He was nervous.

Right after the First Science Conference on Discovery Science held in Fukuoka a few days ago, a man clearly from an important affiliation approached him while offering acknowledgment and respect not usually given to younger scientists like him. Since the death of Kenichi Fukui, the first Japanese laureate of Nobel Prize who had been strongly critical on their country's system of fixed traditional hierarchy, there has been no voice that encouraged long-term research that was fundamental as the support beam of a country's technology level.

There were cases where young assistants of famous professors were stolen from their original work, eventually claimed by names that has more power within the tight structure of academic achievement. No matter how many hours they worked, no matter how many nights they spent with no sleep, it was useless in the face of authority.

It was the way society works, like a well-oiled, revolving machine. But it was only something that rarely changed its gears. His roots taught him to respect elders and conform to his betters, because the nail that sticks out will be hammered down.

But the man that contacted him was different, and with years of experience that was practically prevalent unto the man's features that told Ikutsuki things that the man had weathered so far, it was difficult for him –someone whose brain was his only asset- to not feel even the slightest edge of respect.

"A pleasure to meet such precious young talent, Shuji Ikutsuki-san."

It was Kouetsu Kirijo, the master of the project and the Family Head himself, who came to greet him in front of the massive laboratory complex where researchers that dreamt of potentially altering the course of human history worked. The man that was known in corporate business as someone who single-handedly elevated Kirijo Group's standing in medicine, science and technology sectors extended his hand towards Ikutsuki. As they shook firmly, Ikutsuki bowed with the courtly manners expected from him, murmuring a polite greeting afterward.

Ikutsuki gave the man a traditional bow, his back bending forward at 30 degrees as he averted his gaze to look down at the man's feet. When he straightened out, the much older man nodded and smiled approvingly with a tobacco held between his wrinkled fingertips. Ikutsuki let his gaze swept over the vast, technology-driven laboratory complex.

The complex was both a high school and laboratory, blending in the important, high-risk factors of social experiment unto the more secretive nature of Ergo Project. He knew that such knowledge was limited only to the inner workings of Kirijo Group, and the fact alone that the man let him step inside was both an invitation and a warning.

A thin sheen of sweat trickled from his forehead.

The high, symmetric walls were a perfect reminiscent of Georgian style and the gated perimeter was filled with nature and benches, though it was currently empty because it was the time to hold classes. A three-tiered observatory tower peeked through the surrounding trees and if he didn't know beforehand, he would've thought that this school was an ordinary, prestigious private school.

"A perfect situation, don't you think?"

Ikutsuki got his fill of the surroundings and faced the older man again. It was still difficult to ground himself with the man's presence. Kouetsu Kirijo was the very epitome of a man that stood on the pinnacle of power in photographs, let alone standing directly within the man's line of vision. It was another thing to see him in person.

The man was all sharp edges, defined chin and unforgettable face with a shock of graying scarlet hair. His wide, tall body carried his features well and it served to preserve the glory that came with being a Kirijo. The man was ambition made flesh, one who would stop at nothing to achieve things unimaginable to humanity. The older man was also one of the backing powers that was said to influence the economic stagnation that happened in Japan during late 1991 and early 1992.

To inexperienced, young eyes like him, the Lost Decade only meant that you can't eat if you don't work. It was why he spent months upon months upon months to complete his essays, offering new findings to the already-growing field of knowledge overseas. He still followed his country's development even then, and he returned as his proceeding papers got published.

It was how someone like Kouetsu Kirijo noticed his talent in that fortunate science conference and personally invited him to this modern man-made island.

But from the eyes of those whose power and privileges inferred responsibilities of many lives, the real horror of the Lost Decade was not the external pressure that foreign nations imposed on them, but instead it was the internal pressure. Ikutsuki wouldn't have believed it if it didn't came from Kouetsu Kirijo's mouth himself, but the experiences of harsh survival competition and non-performing companies that were in bankruptcy in all but name were enough to change his view.

But then, what was the true definition of the Lost Decade?

Even though the world called that era as the Lost Decade, in reality Japan didn't experience the severe economical, political, and social collapse like what happened during the Great Depression. Though it was true that Japan didn't recover the ludicrous highs of housing price and stock market it touched in the peak of its economic growth, it was obvious enough that Japan survived more intactly than any other country that has faced the same predicament.

The citizen's life expectancy grew to 83 years. The unemployment rate was 4,2 percent, which was half than in the United States during the Great Depression. Its account surplus totaled into $196 billion which was threefold since 1989.

All in spite of the recession.

The so-called miracle that overturned the dark, tumultuous era brought forth by the what was known as the Lost Decade was the sudden, abrupt change of tide when the massive fiscal stimulus has offset everything in the late 1998. The country was able to counter the almost-unavoidable path of Great Depression in 1929 that struck the States during the sudden stock collapse in one sweep.

Japan avoided a 46% decrease of national GDP, and the man that stood in front of his eyes was one of the few people that made it possible.

Kirijo Group, along with four other gigantic corporates that supported the wave of economic consolation, now became one of the major powerhouses behind the merge that resulted in four national banks in Japan. It was no exaggeration to say that Kirijo Group held one-fourth of Japan's might in its palm.

The older man smiled and gestured with his hand, "Thank you for taking the trouble to cross the sea, it must've been a difficult travel. Do you want to see what you've traveled so far for?"

What did the man meant?

He voiced his question, but he only got another smile as the man walked away so he was forced to follow the pace. They passed through the building entrance, where lines of shoe cabinets greeted them, and Ikutsuki quickly noted that the place was just like an ordinary school, with a cafeteria in the nook of the west wall and a notice board directly across it.

Faintly, he could hear voices overlapping with each other as teachers gave their lectures and subtle talking voices of adolescents. He still couldn't believe that this complex was the base of Ergo Project.

Kouetsu Kirijo noticed his turmoil and the man said, "Surprised? Trust me, this place is the best environment for the progress of our goal. By the way, what made you chose that title for your research papers?"

They turned to the left wing of the building and several wooden plates were hung on top of the doors. Faculty Office, Library, Clinic. "Ah, the research paper when we first met in Fukuoka?" The man nodded, unlocking the emergency door located in the end of the hallway that appeared to lead into the observatory tower he saw outside.

There was a small space where the only object in the room was a long spiral staircase.

"I'm interested in Kenichi Fukui-san's research that received Nobel. It's actually plausible that energy difference can be used to predict strength and stability in molecule. Not only that, but it could also determine reaction rate between reactants." Ikutsuki explained shortly as they proceeded into the observatory tower. It excited him that such line of thought was considered by a big name.

But unexpectedly, the older man laughed.

It was not a mocking laugh like what he has faced before, it was not one that ridiculed him, either. It was a laugh that spoke of victory and promises of glory. It made the hairs on his arms rose.

"Now, I'm going to lead you into the secret of Japan's Lost Decade and how we solved it. We are capable of miracles more than that, young man." They reached the only door on top of the staircase and Kouetsu Kirijo placed his palm on the scanner that authorized him.

"Behold, the fire that shall change the world!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

Birthday update for **Thanzintay.2000!** Good luck on your interview.

People told me that I'm a scatterbrained headless chicken at my worst because let's see, I have four active WIPs and I still have many AUs I want to write *dodges rotten tomatoes like a boss*

My failed attempt to write something coherent aside, thanks for reading^^

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 **Chapter 2**

 _22_ _nd_ _December 1998, Heisei 10, 09.31 AM, Kirijo Group's Ergo Project Laboratory, Observatory Tower._

As the top tier security door opened with a quiet hiss, a long corridor that led to another security door appeared before Ikutsuki's eyes as his mouth was slightly open in awe. The corridor was wide and well-used, not narrow or shallow like the way Ikutsuki expected it to be from the size of the observatory tower of Gekkoukan High School. It indicated that this corridor was probably the only entrance to the laboratorium. If just the entrance was this size, then the whole laboratorium must be quite enormous.

The walls were installed with dim fluorescent light tubes that flashed rhythmically and they were watched from all sides by CCTV cameras. The whirring sound of the rotating cameras was noticeable against the soundproofed room and Ikutsuki tried to fight down his nervousness as two black-garbed guards who were armed to the teeth saluted at the man beside him, the soft metallic sounds of guns being gripped tightly surrounded them.

After Kouetsu Kirijo nodded sharply at them, one of the guards came up to greet them. His polished combat boots rapped steadily against the linoleum floor and after they were face to face, Ikutsuki's body was patted thoroughly with professional and clinical approach from neck to toe. When the guard was certain that Ikutsuki was safe to proceed, his low voice said 'Clear' to the other guard, and only then did they were escorted to the door at the end of the corridor. Another guard appeared from a door he didn't see before, quickly replacing their escort with astounding efficiency.

"Welcome to the Laboratorium Seven, Kouetsu-sama." A genderless voice said as the scanner identified its master.

Abruptly, noises filled their ears after the last security door was opened. The first thing Ikutsuki saw as he took his first step inside was a large screen where a detailed map was shown, complete with the names of the individual labs and a great hall that became the centre of Laboratorium Seven. The room he arrived in was full of chattering people in white coats. Some of the figures were internationally renowned, famous for being revolutionary and radical in their views. They were also the figures behind the scene who made ending the Lost Decade that gnawed Japan alive possible.

And soon, he would become one of them.

The thrill that sang through his veins burned so viciously as he took in the extraordinary observation area he was in. Rows upon rows of super computers and high-ended data banks were splayed freely as if they were cheaper than water, moving and calculating so fast that Ikutsuki felt like he has stepped into the future, decades away from where he was now. The room has steel railings that ran from wall to wall, protected further by a thick glass pane where some of the researchers were taking notes dutifully as they observed the lower layer curiously.

Laboratorium Seven was truly enormous. It consisted of two layers that encompassed the whole observatory tower and an underground area. That was why the observatory tower was only the size of a study hall, because the lower layer was deep underground where the specimens were kept on large, transparent circular glass tubes that were as tall as the support beams, shining like a beacon on a moonless night.

Ikutsuki greedily raked in the sight presented in front of his eyes. The underground layer was as vast as a concert hall that formed a complete, perfect circle. This place was brighter than the dim corridor that led to the laboratorium. There was no windows that brought sunlight in. But instead, the lights came from translucent liquid that filled the glass cylinders and a highlighted platformed area where an odd, gigantic machine was tethered to the ground.

Twelve glass cylinders surrounded the odd machine as though it was a sacrificial ritual, glowed and flared with what might have looked like pillars of incandescent light from a distance. Though in reality, the cylinders were more like columns of natural crystals, as if they grew suddenly from the floor and made their way delicately to reach the sky in splashes of colour.

The crystal-like cylinders contained massive substance each. To his eyes, the substance came in all shapes and sizes. One of the them was leashes of black and white with feminine curves, the other was a heart-shaped, transparent red. Some were humanoid where the others were anything from a thick circle to something that resembled a wartime weapon.

They moved.

Startled by the sudden movement, Ikutsuki tried to scramble back but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him.

A chuckle, "Those miraculous things are what you'll be working with."

What were those? Extraterrestrial beings? Some supernatural monsters? Experimental failures? Mutated human beings?

Some taut chains were connected to the glass cylinders, Ikutsuki noted. The chains rattled and jiggled ominously but they didn't budge. His eyes strayed to the chains at the bottom of the cylinders. His intrigue was piqued. Researchers that worked on the underground layer approached them cylinders and fiddled with the tubes and cables that were attached to the bodies of the massive substances. Ikutsuki leaned forward, and his eyes followed where the other end of the chains were connected to.

Human children. Small, pale-looking human children who were dressed in plain white gowns.

And when one of the on-duty researcher adjusted a lever, some whimpered pitifully like a beaten dog. But all in all, it was a very quiet kind of activity, and their bodies shone almost like the crystal pillars, which made the cylinders glowed brighter. He saw the bowed heads and trembling legs and the tenseness on their shoulders.

Then, one of the figures collapsed.

Ikutsuki squashed down the nausea that came up from his bowel and he forced an answer out through his mouth, "W-What are we trying to achieve?"

The researcher beside him scowled, crossing her arms beneath her ample bosom. "What are you talking about? Kouetsu-sama brought you here because your essay caught his interest, of course."

Another one snorted, hiding his mouth behind a thick bundle of paper that has a large coffee stain on it. "Newbie, are you sure you truly researched your own topic? Or are you one of those copy-paster?"

What Ikutsuki wrote about was... Energy difference that can be used to predict strength and stability in molecule...

...Reaction rate between reactants.

Unconsciously, his grip on the steel railings tightened.

A chill ran down his spine. Human experimentation. Impossibly illegal and scorned through the history of mankind. But these kind of experimentation would never end, Ikutsuki knew. Humanity couldn't lead a better life without new knowledge. Hard work was necessary to achieve enlightenment. Countless tests must be went through to reach a complete, usable technology.

A deafening shout of awe brought him back from his thoughts. There were gasps from all sides, and the woman who scolded him at few seconds ago was crying silently as she covered her lower face. When he looked up, the whole laboratory was practically thrumming with a wave of energy and the faces of the talented researchers were so bright with joy that he had to look at the cause.

Ikutsuki paused and watched as colours danced in front of his eyes, rising and interweaving around the enormous building. The shining ribbons of light and colours twined their way up to the pillars of cylinders. Those ribbons emerged from many different parts of the children's bodies, but always from the part of the body that was in contact with the chain.

It was a beautiful, breathtaking process, but it sickened him to the core.

While he was watching a thin, shivering red-headed girl rocked back against the pillar, he saw one particularly bright ribbon of blue escaped from her chest and coursed up to the cylinder. At the top, it flared and turned into a tiny stretch of crystal the brilliant, stunning colour of azure sky.

It was... absorbed by the substance she was chained to, which looked like a fat doll tethered on a cross shaped wood. Soft, membrane-like strings that looked as if they were pulled and ripped forcefully from its limbs made the substance looked like a macabre replica of marionette straight from a child's nightmare. The girl scrunched her eyes in pain and bucked forward, but she stood in place because the chain kept her up, clamping insistently on her limbs.

One of the broad-shouldered guards that were stationed on the sides of the room hurried forward to remove the chain gently and lifted her up effortlessly, carrying her while being careful about the red welts on her limbs. She looked like she weighted nothing.

After she disappeared to another corridor, Kouetsu Kirijo inclined his head and inquired, "Would you like to see the specimens?"

One of the researchers pulled open a password-protected door that led downstairs and as one, the rest of the team moved to the main lab. Before the room was void of any other presence, Ikutsuki looked up at the older man and whispered, "This... Isn't this wrong? Unethical?"

What a load of bullshit.

When that sentence left his mouth, he realized how pathetically empty his words were. Everyone who has yet to leave the observation area all turned to look at him, surprised by Ikutsuki's question. A mousy-haired man squirmed uncomfortably at the corner of his eyes and some of them stood silently, unblinking. The more senior researchers sneered openly and turned to leave the sudden silence of the room, shoes clanking loudly against the staircase.

Here he was standing right at the heart of a laboratorium that could potentially save their country. Ikutsuki was a mere returnee who knew next to nothing about the struggle that his home country went through. Idealized words that were said out of self-satisfaction has no place in a crumbling civilization. He said those empty words simply to make himself looked good. Everyone who worked here _knew_ that it was unethical. That it was wrong to put children and chained them to unknown substances that could've take away their lives in an instant.

Of course, he knew that. What demon possessed him to voice those idiotic, oblivious words?

A graying eyebrow lifted, unimpressed by his question. "Well, it _is_ a laboratory." Kouetsu Kirijo said, patting his shoulder, "A research facility. A ground-breaking research facility. You're still young, so I hope you'll learn and experience more here."

The sponsor started to walk down the stairs himself. "You, at the back,"

His hand gestured to the mousy-haired man, who startled a bit as the man called him out. "Guide him downstairs. Give him a tour to the main lab and then deliver him to where the children lives. Let him see for himself."

The man who was probably older than Ikutsuki only by a few years replied unsurely. "Uhh... Of course, yes sir."

When the sponsor left the observation area, the nervous man breathed a sigh of relief and approached Ikutsuki, a deep frown prominent on his grave, haggard face. He nudged Ikutsuki out of his reverie with an elbow and physically dragged him away from the now empty room.

"That was stupid of you," He groaned out, skipping the stairs quickly and arriving at the main lab a few seconds before Ikutsuki did.

"I'm sorry." Ikutsuki winced apologetically, now only realizing that his chance to be accepted into the lab was getting smaller by the seconds.

"Stupid, naive newbie. I was just like you back then, but god, that was quite the spectacle. You could've waited until everyone left to the main lab and _then_ voice your question. What a way to make yourself dislikeable to the more senior researchers. No, don't apologize to me. You looked like you're fresh out of your post-graduate thesis. It happens, all the time." The man ranted as he collected a few printouts from a messy desk and dumped everything on Ikutsuki's hands. "Read those," the man said crisply.

Ikutsuki was overwhelmed and his mouth opened and closed before he decided to just follow the reluctant guide around the cylinders. They stopped a metre before each specimens while the guide spewed some obscure card names them off from the top of his head.

"We named everything from Major Arcana cards because of their specifically categorized characteristics but to be honest, I thought that it was because they're edgy. For practicality's sake, just call them First to Thirteenth." Ikutsuki nodded, having no time to peer at the monstrous specimens to satiate his curiousity because his guide continuously gave off new facts before he could absorb them.

"So that's all, but you don't have to worry that our sponsor wouldn't accept you. He already accepts you after he attended the convention."

Ikutsuki gaped, hope clutching at the man's words. "Is that true? How?"

They swept past the serious researchers, some grunting when Ikutsuki ran into them as his guide moved so suddenly. It was confusing how quick he could navigate the crowd while Ikutsuki struggled to catch up. He was already out of breath when they reached a smaller hallway, sunset peering through the bulletproof windows.

"Contrary to your expectation, Kouetsu-sama was quite generous." This revelation brought Ikutsuki to a sudden halt, incredulously eyeing his guide. His senior only rolled his brown-flecked eyes and huffed as he swiped his ID card to the scanner. They stepped out to the grassy backyard of Gekkoukan High School, walking to the parking area through the paved walkway.

"You'll understand the longer to stay here. And also-" The man trailed off. "Never, ever apologizes in front of knowledge and curiousity."

"Even though curiousity killed the cat?"

The silence that followed his lame joke was so deafening that Ikutsuki wanted to bury himself beneath the ground. His guide's shoulders shook that he expected the man to go off in rage like a firecracker but-

The older man _laughed._ Unrestrained and with such obvious fervor that Ikutsuki was afraid that he actually lost a screw or two. Eventually, the laughter stopped and the man hiccuped as he wiped tears from the corner of his eyes.

"That's... That's lame."

Ikutsuki winced.

His guide snickered. "Forget what happened back at the lab. I like you already. Wait until Yukari hear this. She would roll her eyes so bad her eyeballs would pop out."

"I'm Takeba Eiichiro. Nice to meet you."


End file.
